


so i'm in love with my boyfriend and his best friend (should we unionize?)

by ElliHelm



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: I Bully Every Single One Of These Idiots Via Narration, Multi, Oral Sex, Polyamorous Bullshit, This One's For The Discord, Tobin Is A Tease, Wet Dream, Zoey Is A Top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:28:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26553613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElliHelm/pseuds/ElliHelm
Summary: She loves Leif. Shedoes. Cross her heart and hope to die. She just... also happens to maybe, possibly, kinda sorta also be attracted to Tobin.This is fine.
Relationships: Tobin Batra/Leif Donnelly, Tobin Batra/Zoey Clarke, Tobin Batra/Zoey Clarke/Leif Donnelly, Zoey Clarke/Leif Donnelly
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	so i'm in love with my boyfriend and his best friend (should we unionize?)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [diagram this sin triangle (but the biblical kind and not sine)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24924475) by [leifstroganoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leifstroganoff/pseuds/leifstroganoff). 



> I have no excuses for this other than the Discord was horny and my buddy _leifstroganoff_ 's incredible writing inspired me to write the same premise from Zoey's POV. This fic is... several months later than intended, but hey! Better late than never!

_They shouldn’t be doing this._

It’s a thought that goes through her head every time they tempt fate with trysts in the office. A thought that she voices whether she’s the instigator of said trysts or just the _all-too-willing_ participant. A thought that, every time, without fail, _conveniently_ flies right out of her head the minute Leif’s lips hit her neck or that soft, throaty moan falls out of his lips. 

In a way, the _danger_ of being discovered makes it more exciting. Maybe it’s because their relationship is still a secret (technically speaking, anyway — to anyone with eyes, it’s pretty clear that they’ve been _more_ than just rivals for quite a while now). Maybe it’s because they’re both definitely, absolutely, _so very fired_ if anyone ever walks in on them like this. Or maybe it’s just the reminder of how they started — a steamy makeout in the conference room that led to her bringing him back to her apartment and spiralled from there. 

Whatever the reason is doesn’t actually _matter_. What matters is that they’re here in the office, tempting fate again, only now their good luck has finally run out because they’re caught red-handed, and it’s not just _anyone_ who walks in on them. _It’s Tobin_.

Alright, so maybe it’s not the _end of the world_ that it’s _Tobin_ who finds them. It might even be a blessing in disguise. He’s the least likely of all the people who don’t currently know to _say_ something, at least, which means they’re not _fired_ , and it’s not like he’s actually _seen_ anything. (That’s a lie, he’s definitely seen _something_ , but that something could be a _lot_ worse than her hand shoved down Leif’s boxers to stroke him off; it’s the small mercies she’s got to be thankful for.) But that doesn’t stop her from pulling back immediately the minute she hears him approaching, or tame the fiery flush to her cheeks as she watches him move around the office with wide eyes.

He’s _unusually_ blasé about the whole thing, which is… _unexpected_ , to say the least, considering he _just_ walked in on his best friend and his boss in a pretty compromising position, and she almost has to wonder whether he’d already _known_. _Maybe Leif had told him?_ But when she finally turns to look back at Leif he looks just surprised and _flustered_ and **embarrassed** as she feels. _Definitely hadn’t told him, then. Weird._

Tobin’s gone before she can even _think_ about wishing for a heart song to give her some sort of clue about what’s going on in his head, the **_ding!_ ** of the elevator deafening to her ears now that she isn’t otherwise _distracted_.

The mood should be ruined. _Totally ruined_. Sex should be absolutely the last thing on her mind after _Tobin interruptus_ , but as her attention focuses back on Leif, she is struck by just how… _disheveled_ he looks. His hair’s a complete wreck, loose and sticking out in some places where her hands have pulled it out of its immaculate styling. His lips are still kiss-swollen from the makeout session that had prompted the handjob. His shirt is even partially unbuttoned, just like she’d left it, showing off all the bright red marks she’s made (and remade and _remade again_ because she’s an absolute _sucker_ for the noises she draws out of him when her teeth hit his Adam’s apple).

_God, he’s gorgeous like this._

“Hey, uh…” Her voice is rough and foreign in her ears, and she stops to clear her throat, reluctantly pulling her gaze back up to his eyes. “You wanna take this back to my place?”

* * *

So here’s the thing.

_Zoey’s starting to get the feeling that Tobin doesn’t like her, much._

It’s not because he treats her any differently. If anything, he’s even nicer to her _now_ than he has been in the past, and whether that’s just one of the perks of being his best friend’s girlfriend or the result of ongoing growth that she’s seen from Tobin since his heart-to-heart with Leif plus some, as he’d put it, ‘ _mad intense soul-searching_ ,’ is anyone’s guess. It’s what he doesn’t _know_ he’s doing.

The sheer amount of heart songs she’s been hearing from him lately are starting to get overwhelming.

They start off innocuously enough. A pining look here. A longing melody there. She’s been through this once before, so navigating through helping Tobin with whatever his Leif issues are _should_ be a breeze. They start spending more time at _his_ apartment than _hers_. She makes sure Leif doesn’t bail on bro nights with Tobin just to spend time with her. When she isn’t haunted by the same song, she thinks things might be getting better.

 _They get worse_.

The thing is, Tobin doesn’t actually _stop_ singing to her. And the longer they go on, the further they drift away from just general yearning into outright _jealousy_ which is uh… _awkward_ , to say the least. She doesn’t think she’s ever wanted the ground to swallow her up **_more_** than when she witnessed a particularly _disturbing_ cover of Avril Lavigne’s ‘ _Girlfriend_ ’ directed at her and Leif.

So Tobin isn’t just _jealous_ of the extra time she’s been spending with Leif. He’s jealous of _her_. Her relationship with Leif. Her _kissing_ Leif and _dating_ Leif and having _sex_ with Leif. This isn’t something she can just _fix_ , which leaves her stuck between a rock and a hard place because she can’t just stop _being_ with Leif (okay, she _can_ , technically, but she doesn’t really _want_ to, and just the thought of _trying_ creates a pit in her stomach that she’d rather not examine), but she also can’t just walk up to Tobin and say ‘ _hey, I know you’re in love with my boyfriend and hate me for being with him, is there some way we can hash this out so you stop singing really uncomfortable jealous heart songs?_ ’ either. 

Does the universe hate her? Did she do something to _deserve_ being thrust into a lose/lose situation with her power? Because if she’s going to be haunted by the song ‘ _Girlfriend_ ’ until she helps Tobin with his issues with her, she’s going to go _crazy_.

The worst part is that Tobin doesn’t ever actually _stop_ being nice to her, either. He’s still a bit of a shit, of course. He makes his off-color jokes and teases her and hides her pens at work when he thinks she isn’t looking, but he also talks about Star Wars with her and laughs at the dumb puns she makes, and it _sucks_. It _sucks_ because she actually _likes_ this Tobin — the one who doesn’t _constantly_ hide behind a douchebro facade and objectify and/or demean her every other sentence — but he _clearly_ doesn’t like her if his heart songs are to be believed. _Not really_.

(That doesn’t stop her from trying, though. She tries and she _tries_ and she **tries** , greedily cataloguing each laugh and grin and fistbump that she gets for her efforts and shoving down the weird mix of _disappointment_ and **guilt** when she hears _another_ heart song.

 _At least it isn’t ‘Girlfriend’._ )

* * *

The first thought she has when his tongue swipes over her center is that he should _not_ be this good at this. It should definitely be considered a criminal offense that he’s _this_ good at this. The second is a lot less coherent, just a steady stream of _hngh yes more yes please yes fuck_ which she vocalizes _eagerly_ , hands tangling in dark hair and pulling him closer, _closer_ , **closer**.

His beard is an unfamiliar sensation against her thighs, rough but not unpleasant (it’s the _opposite_ of unpleasant, actually; it’s very, _very_ pleasant, and it’s possible she might have told him so as part of her incoherent babbling) as he eats her out with a skill that is belied by some of the more… let’s call them _questionable_ statements he’s made. When his mouth drifts up and closes over her clit, making way for him to slide two fingers inside her that somehow curl up _immediately_ into her g-spot, she’s pretty sure her brain fries into mush. It’s perfect. _He’s_ perfect. **_Too perfect_**.

(Seriously, _how_ does a guy who brags about losing his virginity in a video game get _so good_ at eating pussy? Zoey’s pretty sure she owes whoever is responsible for this skill level a _massive_ thank you note. And possibly her firstborn. _Holy shit_.) 

It’s like he doesn’t even have to _try_ to make her come apart underneath him. He just already knows her most sensitive spots and exactly how to exploit them, and it’s _unfair_. She’d thought _she_ was the one who had all the control here, but he’s quickly proving her wrong. 

Just because her hands are in his hair, pulling and directing him where she wants him, doesn’t mean he’ll always _follow_. In fact, the closer she gets, the more intent he seems on teasing, always seeming to do the _opposite_ of what she wants him to. Slower when she wants faster. Less when she wants more. If his goal is to drive her crazy by keeping her teetering on the edge forever, he’s _succeeding_.

“ _Tobin,_ ” she pleads, tugging on his hair when his fingers come to a standstill inside her. She doesn’t have to see him to know what look he’s giving her right now. Innocent. Expectant. _Smug_. “ _Fucks sake_ , Tobin, don’t be a _bastard_.”

Instead of giving her a _proper_ answer, he hums against her clit, and she can feel his smirk when she bucks up into him, but she doesn’t care beyond the initial irritation because all of a sudden he starts giving her _everything_ , all at once, and it’s too much, _too much_ , **too much**. She goes from teetering on the edge to falling over it in an instant, gasping out his name in a stream of expletives and praises as he works her through her orgasm.

And then she’s awake. Awake and alone in her own bed and so very, _very_ grateful for that fact because if she’d had to explain to Leif why she’d been moaning his best friend’s name in her sleep, she’d probably die of mortification.

It doesn’t mean anything. It _can’t_ mean anything. She **loves** Leif. _She does_. Cross her heart and hope to die. One teeny, tiny, _totally insignificant_ sex dream doesn’t change that. She just… also happens to maybe, possibly, kinda sorta also be attracted to Tobin. _That’s fine._

_It’s not like this is gonna be some sort of recurring thing._

* * *

Zoey knows she should feel guilty.

Not for the growing list of things she’s currently keeping from Leif, like Tobin’s jealousy-fueled heart songs or his most recent guest appearance in her dreams. She already feels guilty _enough_ for that. No, she should feel guilty for _this_. _Rubbing it in._ But much like their office trysts (which haven’t actually _stopped_ ; they’re just smarter about them now, stealing quickies in nice, _secluded_ spots instead of smack dab in the middle of the bullpen), when Leif’s lips hit her neck, rational thought flies right out the window.

Things just have the tendency to snowball when she goes to bed with Leif. One kiss turns to three turns to ten, and before she knows, it he’s pulling her on top of him or rolling on top of her and reminding her of _exactly_ what those hips can do, and any consideration for the consequences that having _very_ loud, _very_ enthusiastic sex will have on Tobin’s feelings flies out the window. Tonight’s not any different.

Leif’s head is buried between her thighs when she hears it. The opening music to yet _another_ heart song. _God, not again._ Zoey contemplates throwing her hands over her ears to block out the noise, but that would mean pulling them out of a (thankfully) oblivious Leif’s hair, so she instead braces herself for the round of guilt and shame that’s to come.

 _She should’ve known something like this would happen eventually._

_Is this more than you bargained for yet?_

It’s not a song that Zoey recognizes (when is it _ever?_ ), but even through the walls separating them and the haze of pleasure that Leif is dutifully keeping her in, she can tell that Tobin sounds _good_ singing it. And since it clearly isn’t enough for her to feel guilty over flaunting her relationship with Leif, she gets to add the guilt over her attraction to _Tobin_ too because the new flutters in her stomach are **not** from the pressure of Leif’s thumb brushing against her clit. They’re from Tobin’s voice.

( _Jesus_ , she’s really got a monopoly on being the biggest fucking mess in this relationship, doesn’t she? _Way to go, Zo. You’re getting turned on by your boyfriend’s best friend singing out his jealousy issues. That’s not fucked up at all._ )

 _Oh, don't mind me, I'm watching you two from the closet_ _  
_ _Wishing to be the friction in your jeans_ _  
_ _Isn't it messed up how I'm just dying to be him?_

So the thing is, she’s only _half_ paying attention to the lyrics as he sings them. She’s heard it all plenty of times before. _Blah blah pining blah blah I wish that were me blah blah you could do better._ Her self-esteem doesn’t really need any more hits, so what’s the point?

Which means, of course, that when she hears the words ‘ _I’m just dying to be him_ ,’ she has _no fucking clue_ what’s going on or what the context is. What she _does_ know is that she’s definitely _not_ the ‘ _him_ ’ that Tobin is dying to be and _holy fuck_ _is he jealous of_ ** _Leif_** _now too?_ _Is that what this means?_ There’s nothing else really in the song to give her a clue (and to be honest, she tunes it out again anyway out of habit), but once the idea’s in her head it _won’t fucking leave_.

Tobin is jealous of Leif too. _Tobin is jealous of Leif too_. **Tobin is jealous of Leif too**. 

What does that mean for what’s going on in his head _outside_ of the heart song? That he’s thinking of them right now? Because neither of them is making any effort to be _quiet_ and the walls are _thin_ and…

Oh. **_Oh!_** _…okay_. 

Her mind is still racing with thoughts of what this new shift in dynamic means when her orgasm hits, pulling her attention back to Leif as she cums with a breathy whine of his name and an incoherent stream of praises and expletives. Unlike her, Leif’s laserlike focus never breaks, and he works her through her orgasm until she’s boneless and breathless and a ( _very bad_ ) idea hits.

 _Oh, she’s_ **_so_ ** _going to hell for this._

“Your turn, baby.” Her voice is soft in his ear, a brief moment just for the two of them before she rolls them over so that she’s on top and sets out doing everything that she knows will drive Leif _wild_. If Tobin’s listening (and _god_ does she hope he’s listening, as messed up as it is), she’s going to give him a performance to remember.

In her mind, he’s stroking himself perfectly in time with what she’s doing to Leif, hand moving fast and imagination even faster while she sucks a dark bruise onto Leif’s Adam’s apple. She’s caught him staring at it before, sneaking glances when he thinks she and Leif won’t notice, and she knows he knows _exactly_ what it’s from. 

( _Is that part of his neck just as sensitive? If she were to give him the same treatment, would he come apart underneath her?_ )

It doesn’t actually take all that long to take Leif to the brink, especially since Zoey isn’t in a particularly _teasing_ kind of mood, and all she can hope for is that Tobin is just as close because when she leans in again, words of encouragement on her lips (“Cum for me, baby. I’ve got you. _Cum for me_.”), they’re for both the man underneath her and the man in the other room. 

Her last thought before falling asleep in Leif’s arms is that she’s going to have to come clean about this soon.

* * *

They’re back in the office again, hidden from prying eyes in the meditation room (though they’re certainly _loud_ enough that anyone not wearing headphones will know _exactly_ what they’re walking in on) instead of out in the middle of the bullpen for anyone to see. It’s still a risk. _It’s always a risk_. But it’s significantly less of one given the late hour.

Leif’s moans are music to her ears, begging in a stream of mostly nonsensical ramblings while his hips buck and wriggle for more. She’d feel bad if he didn’t look so fucking gorgeous like this, all disheveled and desperate and spread out _just for her_. 

“Tobes…” _God_ , he sounds absolutely _wrecked_ right now. “Tobes, _please_.”

Much to his disappointment, instead of giving in, Tobin glances back at her, the question clear in his eyes as he holds back. He looks almost as much of a mess as Leif sounds, hair in even more disarray than usual and cheeks flushed with arousal. _Stunning. Fucking_ **_stunning_** _._ She shakes her head in answer, not trusting her voice to hold out on her.

“Sorry, bro. She said no,” he says, not actually sounding all that apologetic about it, and Zoey couldn’t be prouder. 

“Zoey? Zoey, c’mon, _please_. I can’t—”

“You _can_ , baby,” she says, interrupting him with a gentle hand on his cheek. Because she’s right there, she lets her fingers drift along his jawline, over his lips, across the scar in his left eyebrow, her breath catching whenever his does. “Just a little bit longer, and we’ll do whatever you want.”

Leif sags, either in relief or disappointment at her answer, and she takes advantage of his distracted state to signal Tobin who pulls out for another deep thrust that draws a loud, strangled moan from him.

She feels powerful like this, instructing Tobin on how best to take Leif apart, controlling how and when they _both_ get their pleasure. That they’re letting her do this at all is such a massive display of trust, their control stretched taut to its very limits, and she finally takes pity on the both of them, leaning in to tell Tobin that he can give the more that they’re _all_ desperately craving.

Zoey comes apart underneath her own fingers while Tobin’s fucks Leif through what she’s pretty sure is the most intense orgasm she’s ever seen him have, and she’s gotta give credit where credit is due. She would _never_ have guessed that he’d have the self control to actually pull that off.

She isn’t alone when she wakes up this time, but as she shifts in bed Leif is, _mercifully_ , fast asleep, so that’s _one_ awkward and slightly uncomfortable talk she can at least put off for another day _._

* * *

Zoey’s only like seventy-five percent sure that Tobin’s into her at this point.

She’s also one hundred percent sure that he’s into Leif and vice versa, so really, the only snag here is that twenty-five percent of indecision. That twenty-five percent that she might be reading things totally wrong, and he doesn’t actually want her at all, which would be… well, _embarrassing_ for one.

She _wants_ him to want her. That much is pretty much undeniable after several sex dreams, multiple fantasies, and what’s now a near _constant_ fluttering in her stomach around Tobin, even when he’s doing stupid stuff. _Especially when he’s doing stupid stuff._ The irony isn’t lost on her. She’d probably be laughing too if she weren’t busy turning Operation Get Tobin To Like Her into Operation Get Tobin To **_Like_ ** Her.

She starts small. _Subtle._ (And yes, she is in fact capable of being subtle, and no, she does not know why anyone would ever insist otherwise. _Shut up._ ) She’s seen Leif and Tobin around each other enough to straddle the line of ‘ _is this just me being friendly or am I flirting_ ’ pretty fucking well, and the results are promising, so she starts upping her game. Casual touches become slightly-less-casual touches and shirts cropped just a bit higher so they ride up more when she has to reach up to grab something (which is _often_ ; seriously, who let them both be so damned tall?). Each time she catches his eyes lingering on her for just a little too long becomes its own little victory, spurring her on to take the next step and the next.

One morning, in a moment of bravery and **boldness** (and quite possibly _stupidity_ ), she decides to just throw on a color block hoodie she finds in the back of Leif’s closet and walk out, making just a bit more noise than usual while making breakfast to try and grab Tobin’s attention. It works better than she could ever have imagined. The look on Tobin’s sleepy face as he walks in and notices that she’s wearing his hoodie (and then, a few moments later, when he realizes that she’s _just_ wearing his hoodie) makes the risk worth it.

Make that ninety percent.

So Operation Get Tobin To **_Like_ ** Her is going... _well_. Not _perfectly_. She still hasn’t broached the subject with Leif yet (and still has no idea _how_ she’s going to when the time comes either; it’s not like she can just Google ‘ _how do I tell my boyfriend I'm in love with him and his best friend_ ’ and get an answer), but she hasn’t heard a jealousy heart song in _weeks_ either, and her totally subtle attempts at flirting also seem to be working, so she’s calling it a win. A small win, but a win nonetheless.

The problem is, those small wins eventually stagnate into no wins. Watching Tobin like a hawk to gauge his reactions to her _might-be-flirting_ , _might-be-nothing_ attempts can only go so far, and doing anything more puts it all on the line. _God_ , where’s a heart song when she _actually_ needs one? She’d kill for just one, _really specific_ heart song, preferably of the ‘ _let me date both of you_ ’ variety. There’s gotta be at least _one_ song out there like that, right?

* * *

So Zoey never actually gets that heart song she’s hoping for. She _does_ , however, get something much, _much_ better.

_Sex dreams._

At least, she thinks that’s what Leif’s getting at. Her brain kinda short-circuited when he pulled her aside in her apartment and said, “So, I think Tobin has a thing for you,” so the actual specifics of it are a little bit fuzzy. She’s like eight-five percent sure that she heard _something_ about Tobin moaning her name while he was sleeping, but that still left a fifteen percent chance that she’d completely hallucinated that bit, so maybe she shouldn’t be assuming anything just yet.

“ _…oh_.” She should have a better answer than that. She knows that. She’s had _weeks_ to come up with a better answer than that. _She knows that._ But in her defense, she’s still processing that she hasn’t _just_ been imagining things out of wishful thinking and a misunderstood heart song, and Leif’s giving her a _look_ , and she doesn’t just wanna leave him _hanging_ while her brain works on playing catch up.

“I just told you I heard Tobin moaning your name in his sleep a few nights ago, and all you have to say is ‘ _oh?_ ’”

Okay, so she _hadn’t_ hallucinated that part then. _Baller._

_Jesus, she’s starting to turn into Tobin._

“ _Yeah?_ Cut me some slack, man. I’m still trying to process that this thing’s actually _mutual_.” Tobin is into her. Tobin is definitely, absolutely, _one hundred percent_ into her. She takes back every bitter thought she’s had about the universe hating her. It definitely does _not_ hate her. “Wait, is this some sort of jealousy thing? Is that why you’ve been acting weird? Because it’s not just me. He definitely has a thing for you too.”

When she actually, properly looks back at Leif, she realizes that that _might_ not have been the right thing to say. Now _he_ looks like he’s short-circuited.

“How… how do you know that, exactly?” 

Because Zoey’s a _good_ girlfriend (and also kind of massively owes him after hiding Tobin’s feelings and her feelings and then springing them both on him simultaneously), she’s going to pretend that she _didn’t_ hear his voice crack on that.

“You mean besides the fact that I have _eyes?_ ” she asks, biting back a snort at the indignant look that gets her. _Right_. Not helping. “He’s been singing heart songs since he found out we were dating. Of the _jealous_ persuasion. Including a cover of ‘ _Girlfriend_ ’ that _will_ haunt me until the day I die.”

“ _…oh_.”

With a reminder to herself that giving Leif shit for being at a loss for words like she’d been _won’t_ help, Zoey waits, watching the fluctuation of emotions across his face intently. She’d like to think she’s gotten pretty good at reading him by now, even without the benefit of a heart song, but the truth is, she has _no fucking clue_ what’s going on in his head right now, and the waiting’s starting to kill her.

 _Alright, this was getting ridiculous_.

“ _Leif—_ ”

“What did you mean by ‘ _mutual?_ ’” he asks suddenly, interrupting her, and his face is still unreadable but there’s something in his voice that makes a pit form in her stomach. _God, she hopes that confession hasn’t ruined everything._

“Oh. _Ah_. I, uh… _well…_ ” She knows she must sound like an absolute idiot right now with her poor attempts to dodge the question. She’s had long enough to figure this out. After weeks of lying and hiding things from him with the justification that she _was_ going to tell him eventually, there are really no excuses to be had. He _needs_ to know. She just wishes she could get rid of the feeling that admitting to what she’d meant would lead to him breaking up with her. “This is a little _awkward_ , but um… I may have… kind of sort of… possibly accidentally… caught _feelings_ for Tobin in my efforts to get him to like me and stop singing about how much he hated that I was your girlfriend? And I also… may have started flirting with him a few weeks ago to try and gauge whether he liked the both of us or not.”

“ _Oh my God_.”

 _Shit_.

“I’m _really_ sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t know how to—”

“Do you not want to be with me anymore? Is that what this is?” He interrupts her again, and Zoey would be irritated by it if she weren’t also completely fucking _terrified_ by the way the conversation is going. 

“What? No! **No**. _No_.” _Not want to be with him?_ How in the hell did he even get that impression from what she’d said? “ _Of course not._ Why would you think that?”

“You just told me you’ve been flirting with my best friend for _weeks_. What else am I supposed to think?”

Oh. Right. _That’s_ how. She probably could’ve phrased that better.

“Well, when you put it like _that_ …” What she’s _trying_ to do is lighten the mood, but a quick glance at Leif tells her that it’s _definitely_ not working, so she changes tactics. Reaching up to grab either side of his face she pulls him down to her level, leaning in to keep as little distance as possible between them. “I am still _very much_ in love with you, Leif Donnelly. I promise.”

“Then why would you—?”

“I think we should date.” Now it’s her turn to interrupt him, and when his eyebrows furrow but he stays silent, she takes that as her sign to elaborate. “You, me, and Tobin. We should date. I’m interested, and obviously _Tobin’s_ interested since he’s having sex dreams about us, so if _you’re_ interested… we could do it.”

She pulls back when she finishes, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth as she waits for him to answer. The silence drags. On and on and on until she starts to second guess herself because Leif _still_ looks like he has no fucking clue what the hell is going on, and the last thing she wants is to alienate him by making him feel like he _has_ to say yes.

“You don’t… have to say anything right now. Or ever. If that’s not something you want then it’s fine, there’s no pressure to—”

“You really think that’s something he’d want?”

_Oh, thank God._

“Um… _yeah?_ Have you _seen_ us?” she says, and this one finally draws a laugh out of him, breathy and incredulous, so she smiles victoriously. “Just… talk to him yourself whenever you’re ready. No rush.”

“…okay.” He nods, swallowing, and her eyes are distracted by the movement of his Adam’s apple when he starts speaking again. “Okay. Just one last question.”

“ _Mm-hmm?_ ” she replies, not really listening.

“Have you been flirting with him this whole time because you assumed I’d want to date you both too?”

 **Busted**.

“Um… _yeah?_ Like I said, I have _eyes_. You two have always had a pretty… _bromoerotic_ vibe going on. Not hard to figure out that there’s probably something else there too.”

“Did you seriously just use the word ‘ _bromoerotic_ ’ unironically?”

“Did _you_ seriously just change the subject to avoid admitting I’m right?”

“…touché, Clarke.”

* * *

When she sneaks in the morning after Leif’s “talk” with Tobin (is it still considered ‘ _sneaking in_ ’ when she has her own key? _food for thought_ ), the smell of hashbrowns is fresh in the air, and Zoey grins, tiptoeing until she’s right behind an utterly oblivious Tobin.

“Hey, babe.” She doesn’t hold back the laugh that comes as he jumps and turns toward her, obviously startled by her sudden appearance. She also doesn’t feel an ounce of guilt as she takes advantage of the opportunity and leans in to press a quick but chaste kiss to his lips. “You have fun last night?”

“…is that a trick question?” He seems nervous, skittish in a way that she suspects isn’t _just_ because she’d dropped in unannounced, and it makes her pause. _This isn’t the reaction she’d expected. Or hoped for._

Leif _had_ talked to him… right? She’d just _assumed_ when he hadn’t come back to her apartment that things had gone well (and she’d known they would, of course, but Leif wouldn’t be _Leif_ if he didn’t massively overthink things), but _now_ … He wouldn’t just chicken out without telling her, would he?

“ _…no?_ ” she says, dragging the word out on her tongue, and she steps back to get a better look at Tobin. Just to check that they’re on the same page. He looks… confused. _Crap, that’s not a good sign, is it?_ “Oh God, he didn’t tell you, did he? He didn’t tell you and now I look like a _total_ crazy person. Tobes, I am _so_ so—”

He cuts her off with a kiss that’s _not_ quick and definitely **not** chaste either, and the relief comes secondary to just how fucking _good_ it feels to finally be kissing Tobin. It’s everything she’s wanted since that first dream, smacked in the face with the realization that she was _attracted_ to her boyfriend’s best friend and wracked with guilt over it until she realized that _this_ could actually be possible. 

She’s not ready for him to pull away when he does, chasing after his lips until it’s futile, and the smirk on his lips would be annoying if not for the endearing enthusiasm that comes with it.

“ _Shut up._ ”

 _That doesn’t mean she’s not going to give him shit for it, though._ She’s allowed to, now, as his girlfriend.

“ _I didn’t say anything!_ ”

“You think loudly enough.” _Some times more than others_ , she thinks, but that’s a conversation best left for another time. Kissing now. Heart song confessions later. Much, _much_ later.

“So?”

“ _So…_ you wanna go give Leif an even better breakfast to wake up to?” she asks, nudging him playfully, and the look on his face as the double meaning behind her words sinks in is completely worth it.

“Oh, _fuck_ , yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [Tumblr!](https://leifdonnellys.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Comments feed me deep in my soul. Kudos boost my serotonin levels. Doing both earns you my undying adoration. ♥

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [local dumbass just completely oblivious (absolutely clueless)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27595562) by [leifstroganoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leifstroganoff/pseuds/leifstroganoff)




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